Farnborough Air Show
Farnborough, UKCharter a Private Jet to the Farnborough Air Show
Some of the 200,000 people who attend the weeklong Farnborough International Airshow every year go to the charming English town 35 miles southwest of London to make business deals.
The rest of us go to get sneak peeks at really cool new things like hovering aircraft that look like spaceships.
The first five days of the airshow are for tradespeople. The last two days are for the public.
We Can Get You There
If you’d like to go to Farnborough, which calls itself the "world’s greatest airshow", Paramount Business Jets can arrange a charter flight for you into any nearby airport, including:
- Farnborough Airport, EGLF, FAB, Farnborough, United Kingdom (1 miles)
- Blackbushe Airport, EGLK, BBS, Blackbushe, United Kingdom (5 miles)
- Fairoaks, EGTF, Chobham, United Kingdom (9 miles)
- Odiham Airport, EGVO, ODH, Farnborough, United Kingdom (9 miles)
- Lasham Airport, EGHL, QLA, Lasham, United Kingdom (14 miles)
- Heathrow, EGLL, LHR, London, United Kingdom (18 miles)
- Denham, EGLD, Denham, United Kingdom (23 miles)
- Northolt Airport, EGWU, NHT, Northolt, United Kingdom (23 miles)
- Gatwick Airport, EGKK, LGW, London, United Kingdom (26 miles)
- Benson Airport, EGUB, BEX, Benson, United Kingdom (27 miles)
What You Will See
The show isn’t only for wealthy executives meeting with airline manufacturers to secure a deal on a fleet or two.
Many of the people who go are simply fans. Aircraft groupies. They call themselves "avgeeks".
They come to see things like the debut of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II, the aircraft that zooms forward and then, spewing 18,000 pounds of thrust from its nose, comes to a standstill, hovering overhead like a spaceship. It seems to work with air like those jet packs that squirt humans into the air at the beach work with water.
And, they come to see things like the aerial ballet of the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet, the world’s biggest airliner. "Big Daddy," as it’s called, looks a little like an elephant in toe shoes as the pilot shows off its remarkable maneuverability for its size.
There are also fighter jets on display. And test planes that take off as steeply as a rocketship.
Speaking of space, makers, and suppliers of hardware, navigation, satellites, and communication equipment for space are also at the show.
If you miss anything or want to see something again, the airshow videos each day’s flying display, so you can watch again and again.
Business at The Airshow
Airbus and Boeing. Boeing and Airbus. The two manufacturers that usually battle for top sales at the show every year.
At the end of the five-day trade show in 2016, some $124 billion of orders for almost 900 aircraft were placed.
AirAsia bought the largest number of planes -- 100 Airbus A321s. Cost? $12.6 billion ($126 million each).
Despite worries by some that Britain’s exit from the European Union would affect Airbus sales – Airbus makes the wings for its aircraft in Wales – it still managed to edge out Boeing in sales, $35 billion to $27 billion.
Things to Know If You Go
- The event is held in mid-July every other year (in even-numbered years) at the Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, England.
- It is held to give makers and suppliers of civilian and military aircraft an opportunity to show off their new products to potential buyers.
- The first five days of the airshow is for trade; it’s open to the public the last two.
- It costs about $50 to get in each day of the weeklong airshow, a little less if you buy in advance, a little more if you buy at the door.
- For business executives, Farnborough provides a place, according to show literature, to "establish new business relationships and strengthen existing ones; build upon existing knowledge of the industry; source new suppliers; and evaluate competitors.
- And everyone, buyers or lookers, can "experience live demonstrations of the latest aviation products and services; discover upcoming innovations; and gain an insight into the future of aviation."
- The show includes a Futures Day, to give students, age 11-21, a chance to see the career opportunities available in the aerospace and defense industries. Some 6,000 students took part in the interactive programs in 2016. They got to see the technology of the future and meet with colleges that offer aviation or space programs.
Things to Do in Farnborough
Farnborough has been known for aviation since it was the location of the Royal Balloon School in the beginning of the 20th century.
It’s also where, in 1908, the first powered flight in Britain took place and where, in 1997, the first car went at supersonic speeds. In keeping with that aviation history, tourists often visit:
- The Farnborough Air Sciences Museum: Historic aircraft are on display all around the building, built as the headquarters for the Royal Balloon School.
- Farnborough Abbey: Monks live where Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor exiled to London, and his wife are buried. The Abbey Shop is open to visitors.
